In the wake of her Dubai WTA-1000 final defeat, Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya responded with irony on social media to her compatriot Andrei Rublev, who had suggested she savor the championship moment.
“I enjoyed it until the score reached 5:3, please share more ideas next time Andrey,” she quipped.
Kalinskaya fell to Italian competitor Yasmina Paolini with set scores of 6:4, 5:7, 5:7. For the Moscow-born athlete, this Dubai final marked her first appearance at the championship match.
En route to the final, the opposite side of the court saw Kalinskaya defeat high-ranked American Cori Gauff, who is consistently positioned among the world’s top three, and the two-time competitor Iga Swiatek, who has held the world No. 1 ranking.
In the latest WTA rankings, Kalinskaya sits at No. 40 with 1,323 points. The top of the list remains led by Iga Swiatek of Poland with 10,300 points, followed by Belarusian Arina Sabalenko with 8,905 points after her Australian Open triumph. American Cori Gauff rounds out the top three with 7,100 points. Among Russians, Daria Kasatkina stands highest in 13th place with 3,063 points.
Earlier remarks after the Dubai final reflected that the outcome was not enough to secure the title for Kalinskaya in this event, despite a strong run to the final.